A Professional Risk
by V. Ananda Radha
Summary: This is a potential prologue to 'The Thief'.


_This is the first time I've ever written fan fiction. It was for a school assigment; I had to write a story with a limit of a 1000 words. I actually wanted to make this story longer, but I couldn't due to this requirement. Maybe in the future I will expand this story._

 **Title: A Professional Risk**

 **A prologue to ´The Thief´**

The day was coming to an the windows of my study, I could see the sun had disappeared behind the sacred Hephestial Mountains – blocking the last beams of light. You could only see a sunset golden glow about the mountains, which only made the reddish-brown colour of the mountains seem more vibrant. Looking at this view made me feel peaceful and rosy. It also made me long for my bed very badly, which is actually a constant longing of mine. So I decided that I had studied the second volume of Archimedes enough for today, when all of the sudden the Minister of War - my father - entered my study.

"Oh yes father, do come in, I'm not busy at all," I said sarcastically. My father just snorted in response.

"So why did you decide to rejoice me with your presence this evening? You normally don't visit me," I continued on.

"It seems that having a 'Queen's Thief' might be of use after all," he said cynically, probably thinking of when I decided I didn't want to be a soldier. I gestured him to take a seat beside me.

He continued: "The Queen has received a marriage proposal from the King of Sounis. Multiple times. And so far, she has rejected them all."

At first, I was a little surprised, but come to think of it, it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. New alliances were constantly made through marriage. Still, I couldn't imagine the queen to be wed to the King of Sounis, or to be wed at all. She was a warm, charismatic and sympathetic woman, but she had a mind of her own and her people came first and foremost.

I almost started to laugh thinking about how he was ever going to persuade her to marry him when my father announced something very troubling: "They have Hamiathes's Gift."

I was a bit confused; Hamiathes's Gift had been hidden for a long time and nobody had found it so far. I must have looked very puzzled since my father quickly elaborated: "Or at least, so they claim. If they _do_ have the stone, the queen will be forced to accept his proposal ifshe wants to hold her place as queen of Eddis."

The Hamiathes's Gift and its story is a symbol for Eddis. _If_ they indeed had the stone and she were to refuse, the queen would easily lose the love and faith of the people of Eddis – which took much effort to require in the first place, being a young woman on the throne. I remained silent, letting everything my father told sink in.

"According to the legend, the one with the stone has the sovereignty of Eddis and thus the queen of Eddis. Her council – including myself – think it would be wise to accept the proposal. However, she's not ready to hand over her sovereignty of both her country and herself to a stranger. The King of Sounis would use Eddis and rule Eddis for its own benefits and not for the benefits of the people of Eddis," he said with a tired voice.

He probably must have debated about this matter for a long time; With the council, with the queen, and internally, with himself.

"I sense you are not certain of what to do," I said, trying to sound serious, but a little smile was unavoidable. "You need me," I said.

"You do understand the sincerity of this situation?" he responded hotly.

"Yes, I do and I want to help my queen in any possible way or manner," I said genuinely.

"Good. That's all I needed to hear from you," he said while getting something out of a small pouch. He made a stack of double-heavy coins on my desk. Then he suddenly stood up, gave me a sturdy nod, turned around and left.

It had been hours since my father gave me an unexpected visit telling me something highly confidential and thereafter mysteriously leaving a stack of coins on my desk. After this visit, all I was capable of was staring at the stack of coins and thinking what had happened and what my father expected of me. Did he want me to find out if the King of Sounis had Hamiathes's Gift? And if so, did he want me to steal it? Must I tell him or the queen of my plans if I had them?

While in Eddis, I couldn't do much. If I were to travel to Sounis, I could learn if they had the stone in their possession. If they did have the stone, I would have to use my talents as a thief.

Travelling safely back to Eddis without being suspected would be the trickiest part of this venture. But I would have more difficulties if it proved the King and his council were bluffing and thus did not have the stone. I would have to do the research on the stone's whereabouts myself, and find out how much information the King of Sounis and his council accumulated- which I also had to steal, before I could steal the actual stone. In both cases, I'd be taking enormous risks. Although I would gladly take those risks. I didn't want to let my queen down, my country, even my father, but mostly I didn't want to disappoint myself. This was an opportunity to prove myself as a thief and to show my father and the entire court that my skills as a thief were of value. Besides, risks and challenges are the things that I was naturally attracted to.

I still had a couple of hours before dawn and I decided I didn't want to wait any longer. Staying here, overthinking feasible plans and their potential outcomes, would only make me more restless.

Once in Sounis, I would know what strategy to apply, though a portion of it would involve improvisation. But I had no worries; as a thief improvisation was actually your main tool. Even if you thought out your entire schemes; not everything would happen according to your plans. Not a thing will ever happen just the same.

What required my full concentration now was leaving the palace unnoticed. Within the palace I was a well-known person – which didn't automatically mean was a well-loved person, quite the contrary – so even with almost the entire palace asleep, I'd have to be careful…


End file.
